Small Town

Peaceful in a small town, golden leaves falling down
Blowing to and fro, where happiness abounds
Driving past the Craftsman houses, beautiful and standing strong
Families live in harmony, love that lasts ever so long

Many tall, stately trees, line the streets like spectators
Who watch the constant parade, of townspeople and visitors
Children playing in the yard, barking dog fetches a ball
Rolling hills of parks display both bright and muted shades of fall

A man and woman with bags of groceries, waiting for the bus
As we drive by and notice them, they smile and wave at us
We pass the cemetery, place of rest for our dear dead
Flowers, flags and stones adorn the ground on which we tread

The green, green grass of golf courses, the blue river, it flows
Along the edge of town, where the weeping willows grow
Apple cider, popcorn balls, Thanksgiving turkey, tastes of autumn
Curl up near the fireplace, smoky, and so toasty warm

A biting chill in the air, warns of winter coming
The sky will soon be filled with sparkling snowflakes falling
Seasons mark the time, our lives are passing by
Enjoy each moment, relax and have a piece of pumpkin pie

Small towns are the best, like a little slice of Heaven
Sunday, see the churches fill with those who love the Lord
The small town experience is just impossible to beat
A small town is the place where I will always choose to be

-Liz
11/14/13

Rely not Deny

For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Cor 13:12

I know thy works: behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Rev 3:8

The Holy Spirit is what I rely on

There is no way for me to deny it

I can’t deny the witness I’ve gotten

I won’t deny the Father who loves me

The prayers I’ve had answered

The guidance I’ve followed

The path I’ve been shown

I can say I know
 

I know who I am

I know where I came from

I know what I’m doing

I know where I’m going

 

A place full of beauty

Where we’ll live in peace

With unconditional love

From our family above
 

A Father who loves us

A family tree

Rejoicing in goodness

Living for service

The knowledge of this

Fills me with peace

I travel with surety

And strive for purity

Sin is forgotten

Pain is no longer

Hard work is light

Because it is right 

Heaven is as real

As the love that we feel

Faith is the evidence

For which we are blessed

 

Christ is the Shepherd

And we are the sheep

Not following blindly

Just promises to keep

 

With strength and with knowledge

And testing the process

The payoff is there

Try if you dare

 

Search in your heart

It was there from the start

But time can erase

What once was in place

The Holy Spirit is what I rely on

I know it and so I cannot deny it

I can’t deny the answers I’ve gotten

I won’t deny the Father who guides me

 

-Liz

11/11/13

 

Faith, Trials & The 10 Commandments

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1

Fear brings in bad things, while faith brings good.

In order to know who someone really is deep down inside, they must be caught by surprise.  They will either be selfish or selfless. The selfless find each other, the selfish stay by themselves, not trusting anyone.  People seek their own kind, matching minds and souls.

Our real selves do not come out until we are tried and tested.  We may not even know ourselves, what we are made of, until we are faced with trials so severe that we are either broken or strengthened by the event.  We grow more from pain and hardship, than when things are easy.

The only way to make it through troubled times is not to worry about yourself.  Devote your thoughts and energy to others.

There are many people who have used childhood hardships as a springboard for tremendous adult spiritual strength.

We are all children of God, and being his children is our common denominator.  Many different faiths have a lot of truth.  The very fact of arguing, fighting and warring over religion is in direct opposition to Christ's teachings.  He asks us to love one another, to treat each other with kindness, whether we are scholars of scriptures or just learning how to pray.  There may be more truth in some churches than others, but you have to understand that some people are not ready for the more advanced teachings.  Living the ten commandments is hard for a lot of people, so they need simpler laws.  As long as they desire to draw closer to Christ, then their hearts are in the right place.  There should be no discrimination in people's hearts, no boasting, no selfishness, only words of kindness, encouragement, humor, and love.

- S. Freeman

10 Commandments:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
5. Honor thy father and thy mother
6. Thou shalt not kill
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
8. Thou shalt not steal
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's possessions

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Matt. 22: 36-40

Teach with Love

I cannot save you; you cannot save me; we cannot save each other, only so far as we can persuade each other to receive the truth, by teaching it. When a man receives the truth he will be saved by it.  He will be saved not merely because someone taught it to him, but because he received and acted upon it.
- J. F. Smith

When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind.
- J. Smith

In these last days it is essential-even critical-that parents and children listen to and learn from one another.
-M. R. Ballard

And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.
-D&C 88:118

Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?
-Romans 2:21

What teaching can compare in priceless value and in far-reaching effect with that which deals with man as he was in the eternity of yesterday, as he is in the mortality of today, and as he will be in the forever of tomorrow.
-J. R. Clark Jr

By Design

How could this have happened?  It was by design

Didn’t see it coming?  Didn’t see the signs?

How could this have come about?  It was all a plan

Full participation in the downfall of man

Deceiving tongues, both Left and Right, deliver lies, dressed in white

Turning daylight into night, right is wrong, wrong is right

Intent was not to implement, but simply to invade

Thought they dealt in hearts, let’s call a spade, a spade

Will we exchange our souls for a vile loaf of bread?

Will we use our hearts, or only use our heads?

Will we follow darkness, labeled as if it’s light?

Or will we take the hard road now and choose to follow right?

God created man in his own image, this is true

And what we do with all of this, is up to me and you

Will we plunder, waste, and ruin all that we’ve been given,

Or take this life and make it like a little bit of heaven?

Do we think there is no plan? Truly think that through

There is no way to follow none, choices will choose who

Will we let ourselves be led, by standing in that line?

How could this have happened?  It was by design

-Liz

10/21/13

Sunflower Gold

Sunflower gold,

Blinding beauty to behold

Red, white and blue,

Patriotic hues

Breath-catching presence,

Delicious essence

Surface identified,

Regret ever rectified

Adrenaline junkie,

Forever young,

Possessing me?

Naught, but one

Vindicated innocence,

Why so bold?

Suffocating cynicism,

Growing old

Completely completed,

Having succeeded

Blue sky masterpiece,

Blanketed with peace

- Liz

10/18/13

Good Timber

The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.

- Douglas Malloch

Breathe (2am)

2 am and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?
I don't love him, winter just wasn't my season"

Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes
Like they have any right at all to criticize
Hypocrites, you're all here for the very same reason

And cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl

So cradle your head in your hands

And breathe, just breathe
Oh breathe, just breathe

In May he turned 21 on the base at Fort Bliss
"Just a Day," he said down to the flask in his fist
"Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year"

Here in town you can tell he's been down for awhile
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles
Wanna hold him, maybe I'll just sing about it

'Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, boys

So cradle your head in your hands

And breathe, just breathe
Oh breathe, just breathe

There's a light at each end of this tunnel
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again
If you only try turning around

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer
Inside of me threatening the life it belongs to

And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them however you want to

But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button now
Sing it if you understand

And breathe, just breathe
Whoa breathe, just breathe
Oh breathe, just breathe
Oh breathe, just breathe

-Anna Nalick

Forever Reign

You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see

You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering

You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost its sting

Oh, I'm running to Your arms,
I'm running to Your arms
The riches of Your love

Will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim

You are here, You are here
In Your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I'm running to Your arms
I'm running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing

no other Name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I'm running to Your arms
I'm running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

-One Sonic Society

Sieve

Some say it is a choice, some feel it is elusive

It runs like careless sand through the hourglass I hold

I know that I should always feel it, but I cannot say I do

In the equation, in the puzzle, what is missing, where is truth

If I can overcome, if I can only overcome

Past the pitfalls, traps and fears, just relax a bit

Let go the misery and the failings, accusations and the lies

Embrace the whole, look past the few, just enjoy the ride

When it is present, I am full, life is bliss it’s true

Then I can see outside myself, beyond the walls I’ve built

The world is beautiful and clear, when it's flowing freely

But, those times depart, life can pass so miserably

At times I’m sleeping, or I’m numb, I cannot feel a thing

Then there’s pain and longing, a darkened emptiness

When I awake, remembering, I wonder where and how

Changes come, ebb and flow, for all I know is now

Some memories elude, some stick like gum in hair

Entangled and so painful, I need to move beyond

What is done, what I do, to what is necessary

Cease to care, strive to learn, remain aware, be wary

Happiness, I have all the ingredients to make you

I have the things I need to possess you, to embrace you

My life is full of love and growth, I know life is a gift

Some days my cup, it overflows, some days it is a sieve

- Liz

5/7/13

Aрмагеддон

Final war is imminent; world game to be leveled

‘Tis foretold who wins, fight shall be unequaled

Truly don’t recall, began so long ago

Rages on around, below, life facade we know

Beast desires and devours our very lives, our selves

One can lift and ransom from the very jaws of Hell

Sick, infected pus, this Earth has labeled fear

Destroying Heart and Soul, future seeming drear

Deception intertwines, veins through marbled stone

Love interwoven, Ah! to never feel alone

Cling to the thought, Faith is there, waits patiently

Never leaves, never sleeps, watches o’er you and me

Strength found within yourself, ever pulls you through

Strength found within the Word, absolute for you

There’s going to be a war, of that we can depend

But in the strength of God, lies all the hope for Men

-Liz

4/26

Love the Potential

Don't love or hate what is

Don't see with human eyes

But search within the soul

Where true potential lies

-Liz 
4/23/13